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Vol. 5 Issue 120 www.theolivepress.es
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30th November - 13th December 2023
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Terror probe hell ‘Full on and stressful’ ordeal for British family after daughter is dragged into terror probe A BRITISH expat family has been torn apart after their ‘vibrant’ and ‘model-esque’ daughter was accused of helping to carry out a terrorist attack in Spain. On the surface, Sasha Brooks is a typical young woman enjoying life in the sun, regularly posting selfies on nights out in Marbella and Granada with her friends on Instagram. With holidays in Ibiza, Mallorca and Australia, she wears stylish clothes and is the ‘life and soul of the party’ on frequent nights out. But her world came crashing down when she was arrested alongside her Spanish boyfriend, Naraya Gomez, at a home they share in the quaint town of Lanjaron, Granada, just an hour inland from the Costa del Sol. They were sequestered to Madrid before facing a judge, where they were charged with aiding the assassination attempt of far-right politician Alejo Vidal-Quadras. The 78-year-old was shot in the face by a hitman on a motorbike outside his home in the posh neigh-
LOVELY COUPLE: Naraya and Sasha are being investigated
EXCLUSIVE By Laurence Dollimore
bourhood of Salamanca in Madrid - which boasts football players, Penelope Cruz and Javier Bardem as residents. Last night Spain issued an international arrest warrant for the suspected shooter, named as 37-yearold Tunisian Mehrez Ayari. Following Sasha and Naraya’s arrests, Lanjaron, a tiny town of just 3,000 people, was turned into a media circus. Before Sasha was dragged before a judge, her mother, Angie Brooks, a financial advisor, told the Olive Press: “Spanish reporters have been hounding us, banging on my door all night and morning. “They have reported so many lies about my daughter.” After her court appearance her mother said Sasha was ‘exhausted’. She added she had been through an ‘ordeal’, branding the episode ‘stressful’ and ‘full on’. “I’ve had to come up to Madrid to help her as much as possible,” said Brooks, who runs a an anti-fraud advice company, Pension Life, where her daughter and boyfriend Naraya had been working. “It’s been pretty full on and it’s now up to the judge to decide whether to charge them or not.” While her mother later insisted she had not been charged, Sasha had her passport taken off her after being released on bail. She must appear before the court every 15 days and is forbidden from leaving Spain as the investigation continues. Various Spanish newspapers reported that both Sasha and Naraya were still being investigated in connection to the attempted murder. Naraya was refused bail and sent
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to prison due to the overwhelming evidence against him. He is said to have recently converted to Islam, specifically following the Shiite sect favoured by the ayatollahs of Iran. Vidal-Quadras is convinced the Middle Eastern nation is the mastermind behind the hit, after its ruling elite listed him as a ‘terrorist’ last October due to his years of harsh criticisms against the country. Naraya, 26, is WORRIED: Mum Angie accused of hir- while (above) Naraya’s ing the contract dad Sirio killer before travelling to a hotel in Madrid with c o m m u n e him on the eve of the attack. just outAccording to police, Gomez fol- side Lanlowed the Frenchman in his car on jaron, inthe day of the shooting. sisted the After the deed was done, the al- c h a r g e s ‘EXHAUSTED’: Sasha Brooks was dragged to leged killer, who is also wanted were com- Madrid following her arrest in Granada for a murder in Paris, dumped his p l e t e l y motorbike and set it on fire, before false. Sirio lives in the so-called commubeing picked up by Gomez in his car He told the Olive Press: “My son nity of Benificio, just a 20-minute to make his getaway. is completely innocent, he is not drive from Lanjaron. According to police, Naraya’s blue a terrorist. hire car was seen on CCTV in Ma- “He is a good boy, a vegetarian, Alternative drid’s Barrio Salamanca in the weeks spiritual and a pacifist.” It’s known by locals as an ‘alterrunning up to the attack, tracking He said he last spoke to Naraya a Vidal-Quadras’s movements. few months ago and that he was native community’, where people The same car was found illegally excited to introduce his girlfriend from across Europe come and go. The theory put forward by police parked in Lanjaron this week, lead- Sasha to him. ing to the couple’s arrest. He added: “He was not related has left expats and locals in LanjaNaraya’s father Sirio Gomez, a to politics, he worked for Sasha’s ron in shock. One local Brit told the Olive Press: yoga master who lives in a new age mother’s business. “He never converted “They were a lovely couple, no one to Islam, that is a lie, can believe it or understand it. he is not a Muslim. He “There is no motivation for them has judeo-Christian to do something like this, Sasha beliefs and an affinity comes from a good family.” The investigation continues. with Israel!”
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